Wilkinson, who has been out of action since early January due to a knee injury, is one of 11 players in contention for a place on the bench, though Newcastle Director of Rugby Rob Andrew will not finalise his replacements until Sunday.

The Falcons have made four changes to the team that started in the 27-27 draw against Gloucester last time out (27th February), with Ollie Phillips and Semo Sititi coming into the side for Mathew Tait and Phil Dowson respectively.

Joe Shaw starts at full back, as Dave Walder switches to fly half in place of Mark Wilkinson. In the front row, Ian Peel takes over from James Isaacson at loose head prop and will also captain the side.

Their full team is as follows:

15. Joe Shaw
14. Ollie Phillips
13. Tom May
12. Mark Mayerhofler
11. Michael Stephenson
10. Dave Walder
9. James Grindal
1. Ian Peel (Capt.)
2. Andy Long
3. Micky Ward
4. Luke Gross
5. Craig Hamilton
6. Mike McCarthy
7. Cory Harris
8. Semo Sititi

Replacements (from): James Isaacson, Stuart Mackie, Galo Alvarez Quinones, Geoff Parling, Phil Dowson, Hall Charlton, Lee Dickson, Jonny Wilkinson, Toby Flood, Mark Wilkinson, Mathew Tait

*NB - We have a limited number of tickets available for Sunday's game, which can be purchased by calling the ticketline on 0871 871 8877 or online by clicking here.